The Cali Cartel was less violent than its rival, the Medellín Cartel. While the Medellín Cartel was involved in a brutal campaign of violence against the Colombian government, the Cali Cartel grew. The latter cartel was much more inclined toward bribery rather than violence.

After the demise of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian authorities turned their attention to the Cali Cartel. The police campaign against the cartel began in the summer of 1995. President Samper dispatched a "joint task force" code named "Search Bloc", formed by top police and elite commandos headed by Police General Rosso Jose Serrano, declaring an all-out war against the drug cartels.

Capture

On June 9, 1995, Gilberto Rodriguez-Orejuela was arrested by the Colombian National Police (PNC) during a house raid in Cali. When the police had searched the home several days earlier, Rodriguez-Orejuela had escaped detection by hiding in a hollowed-out bathroom cabinet with an oxygen tank.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was temporarily freed in early November 2002, due to a controversial judicial order issued by deputy judge Pedro José Suárez. He was recaptured by Colombian authorities in Cali, in March 2003.[4]

Extradition to the United States

Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela processed after being captured

Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela was extradited to the United States on December 3, 2004.[5] His brother Miguel was also extradited to the US in March 2005.

On September 26, 2006, both Gilberto and Miguel were sentenced to 30 years in prison, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to import cocaine to the U.S.[6] They took this deal in exchange for the United States agreeing not to bring charges against their family members. Their lawyers David Oscar Markus and Roy Kahn were able to obtain immunity for 29 family members.

On November 16, 2006, the brothers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to engage in money laundering. Both were sentenced to an additional 87 months in prison.[7] The two prison terms were set to run concurrently.

On March 5, 2018, a Colombian court sentenced eight relatives of the Rodriguez brothers to nine years in prison for laundering money that had been obtained during the Rodriguez brothers' time as heads of the Cali Cartel.[9][10] Specifically, the court found that the family had used their legitimate businesses (including the pharmacy chain Drogas La Rabaja) to launder billions of pesos. These individuals had also shifted the money through various bank accounts in order to make it appear legitimate.

In popular culture

In 2010 Caracol TV Series El Cartel Rodríguez Orejuela is portrayed by the actor Hermes Camelo as the character of Leonardo Villegas.

In the 2012 Caracol TV series Escobar, el patrón del mal, Rodríguez Orejuela is portrayed by the actor Harold Devasten as the character of Gildardo Gonzalez

In the 2013 RCN TV series Tres Caínes, Rodríguez Orejuela is portrayed by Luis Enrique Roldán.

In the 2014 RCN TV series En la boca del lobo is portrayed by Sain Castro as the character of Edilberto Ramírez Orjuela.

External links

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